A Tribal Christmas Carol
by Mall Rat Matt
Summary: Amber resolves to change Lex's attitude to Christmas, with the help of the rest of the tribe.


'It's a bad idea,' Lex said for the fourth time, slowly, as if by emphasising each word he could drill it into everybody's heads. He stood at one end of the meeting table the tribe had put together in the café, gazing around the room at the assembled Mallrats gathered around it. At the opposite end, Amber also stood, her arms folded in stubborn defiance at his words.

'Well, I think it's a great idea,' Trudy enthused, getting up to stand next to Amber. 'Think about it,' she said, addressing the rest of the group. 'We could use a good celebration around here; why not Christmas? It's been years since the last one, and it was always such a happy time. We need more of those around here, especially now that Mega's in power.' Her lips wrinkled in distaste at the mention of the tyrant.

'Exactly,' Amber agreed. 'We might have no choice but to go along with his plans at the moment, but this will show him, and the rest of the city, that he can't break our spirits.' As City President, Amber was no more than a figurehead appointed by Mega, a scapegoat to take the blame for all his unpopular actions. It galled her that, because of his threats against her baby, backed up by the numbers and weaponry of his Techno forces, she was powerless to stop him. 'Shall we have a vote?' she continued. 'Who wants to have Christmas again?' She and Trudy both raised their hands, as did Sammy.

'I remember at school,' the youngster said eagerly, leaning forward in his seat to address everyone, his free arm resting on the table. 'The teachers told us that, when the baby Jesus was born at Christmas, the angels sang that there would be peace on all the Earth.'

'That sounds lovely,' Lottie said longingly, having never experienced a great deal of peace in her lifetime, and raised her hand too.

'That's the message we want to send out, Sammy,' Amber smiled. 'Peace, and hope for the future.'

Lex scoffed. By now he was the only one without a hand in the air; in fact, he had deliberately stuck both of them in his pockets. 'Cute,' he said. 'I'm sure Mega's trembling in his Techno boots as we speak. Even if we ignore the fact that it's about as useful a way of fighting back against the Technos as using a confetti cannon, how are you even going to pull this off? You'll be wanting a tree, I suppose? Are you going to brave the Zootists and all the other crazies outside the safe zone to go out to the country and chop one down? And what about food? Do you know how hard it is to get extra supplies these days? Not to mention that inviting other tribes in here is just going to be an excuse for them to trash the place. We're hardly flavour of the month after Amber's little CityNet broadcast about the extra work parties yesterday. Well, you know what? If you guys want to have yourselves a merry little Christmas, that's fine, but don't expect any help from me!'

'You're just a Scrooge, Lex!' Salene accused. 'A little hard work never hurt anyone.'

'Well I think old Ebenezer had the right idea, personally,' Lex grinned back at her. 'Christmas? Humbug!' And with that, he stormed off to his room. The rest of the tribe grumbled to themselves over his attitude, but Amber simply stood and smiled. Talk of Scrooge had reminded her of one of her favourite Dickens novels, A Christmas Carol, and she had come up with an idea to make Lex change his mind.

'Darryl, do you still have that Zoot costume lying around?' she asked her fellow tribe member.

Darryl nodded. 'I think so,' he answered.

'Go fetch it,' she said. 'And I'll need help from the rest of you too. We're going to bring Lex to his senses.

'That'd be a Christmas miracle if ever there was one,' May joked.

* * *

><p>That night, Lex lay in his bed, sleeping peacefully. All of a sudden he was awoken by a chiming clock. His eyes shot open; where had that come from? There were no clocks in his room. Had he been dreaming? He was about to close his eyes and go back to sleep when the unseen clock chimed a second time, then a third, and it kept chiming. There was no denying the reality of it. At the twelfth, the whole room was illuminated by a bright light and he scrambled to a sitting position, shielding his eyes and wondering what was happening. A distinct chill filled the room and he slowly lowered his arm, gasping in shock as the unmistakeable figure of Zoot rose from the foot of the bed.<p>

'What's going on?' Lex called hoarsely. 'This can't be real. You're…you're dead!'

'Yes,' Zoot answered simply. 'I am. And this is very real.' He raised his arms, and Lex saw that there were chains around his wrists. 'Do you like them?' the spectre grinned. 'I made them myself, by my actions in life. Every night I am tortured in the blackest depths of Hell!' A blood-curdling scream filled the room, and the light surrounding Zoot turned blood red. Lex threw the bedcovers over his head to drown out the noise. When he finally plucked up the courage to emerge, Zoot was still there, but the light had reverted to its original colour. 'But you can escape my fate, Lex,' Zoot informed. 'I've been sent to warn you.'

'Warn me about what?'

'About what will happen if you keep distancing yourself from your tribe,' Zoot replied. 'Come, let me show you.' He beckoned for Lex to follow him.

'Show me?'

'Yes,' Zoot grinned evilly. 'Show you your future. And the doom of the Mallrats.'

Lex got out of bed, fearing what would happen if he didn't follow. Zoot led him out into the darkness of the mall. As they approached the Phoenix statue, the ghost clicked his fingers and an eerie light lit up the grille area. Even from where he stood Lex could hear the howling of the wind outside, a wind that blew snowflakes into the entranceway.

'This is Christmas Day,' Zoot intoned. 'Several years from now. It seems that the Mallrats have started something of a tradition.'

'Wonderful,' Lex muttered sarcastically.

'Only, you didn't help them that first Christmas,' Zoot continued. 'And they couldn't do it on their own. They kicked you out and instead had to turn to Mega for help.'

Lex snorted. 'They wouldn't do that,' he argued, then fell silent at the phantom's accusing look.

'They had no choice,' Zoot explained. 'By that point the city was expecting a party, and the Mallrats had to deliver. Mega provided everything – food, decorations; he even had a tree flown in over the barricades. Instead of the passive resistance to the Technos it was intended as, Mega made Christmas into a celebration of his rule.'

Lex spun on his heels at the sound of a scream behind him, and saw another pool of light illuminating Trudy, kneeling over a motionless Brady at the foot of the Phoenix fountain, a look of despair on her face.

'Trudy!' Lex called out to her. 'What is it? What's wrong with Brady?' She didn't respond, so he took a step towards her, then jumped in shock as he was restrained by Zoot's hand grabbing his arm. He hadn't expected the ghost to be so…solid.

'She can't hear you,' Zoot explained. 'Or see you. This is merely a window into the future. Without you to find food for them, the Mallrats came to rely on the gifts Mega provided. After all, with Amber as President, they could have whatever they wanted. But before long the people came to trust Mega and the Technos fully. He didn't need the Mallrats as figureheads anymore, and the gifts stopped coming. The tribe found that they couldn't compete with the other tribes for food anymore. They didn't have the bargaining power they had once had, and they had lost the skills needed to find food outside of the city, too. Starvation set in. The little ones were the first to go.'

Lex watched in horror as Trudy placed a blanket over her daughter's body, but had no time to think or speak before Salene and Amber rushed down the stairs to join her, closely followed by Sammy and Lottie.

'They're here,' Salene said, sounding frightened.

Amber nodded. 'This is it,' she said determinedly. 'Our last stand.'

No sooner had she spoken than a group of masked Technos burst in through the grille entrance, their weapons drawn. The surviving Mallrats charged into battle, but didn't stand a chance. Lottie and Sammy were easily overpowered and carried away, while the older tribe members were no match for the Technos' zappers. Before long only the Technos were left standing, and the fallen Mallrats were gathered up and carried away, leaving Lex and Zoot alone in the pool of light once more. Frozen by the fear of a dead man's hand on his skin, Lex had only been able to watch in stunned silence as his friends were taken, and now his mouth worked soundlessly, unable to form words.

'As the Technos grew stronger,' Zoot said. 'They needed more and more power, and that meant more slaves to work the power stations. Every so often there would be a raid on one of the weaker tribes, one that nobody would miss. This time it was the Mallrats' turn.'

'How did we come to this?' Lex wailed, finally regaining the power of speech. 'This can't be the end of the Mallrats; there must be another way, a way to stop all this from happening!'

'There is,' Zoot said simply. 'But only you can stop this, Lex. You have to make sure this first Christmas is remembered throughout the city, for all the right reasons. You have to keep the resistance alive.'

'I will,' Lex promised, falling to his knees. 'Anything! Anything but this!'

Zoot laughed, and the laughter reverberated through the mall, booming louder and louder. Lex curled himself up in a ball with his hands over his ears, trying to escape the awful sound. Suddenly it stopped. Lex carefully uncovered his ears, then got to his feet when he realised that Zoot was gone and he was alone in the dark once more.

A throat cleared behind him and he spun around in fright, only to come face to face with Sammy.

'Lex…are you alright?' the boy asked, looking puzzled.

Lex ignored the question, instead running up to Sammy and grabbing him by the shoulders. 'You're still here!' he exclaimed. 'That must mean I'm back! Back in the present! Wait…what day is it?' The intensity rose in his voice. 'What day is it?'

Sammy wriggled free of his grasp and shrugged his shoulders. 'How should I know?' he replied. 'Nobody's known what day it is for years!'

'I'm talking about Christmas, kid!' Lex clarified anxiously. 'Have I missed it?'

'Are you kidding?' Sammy asked incredulously. 'We only just decided to have it!'

'I'm not too late!' Lex laughed, doing a little dance, before stopping abruptly and holding his head. 'So much to do…Listen Sammy, I've got some food stored away at a place in the city. I was saving it for an emergency but…well, this _is_ an emergency. Anyway, I'll give you directions, can you fetch it? There's something else I need to sort out.'

* * *

><p>Amber smiled as she watched Lex and Sammy from the balcony overlooking the ground floor of the mall. She could hardly believe that her plan had worked! She was sure something would have gone wrong, from someone missing their cue, to Lex seeing through the whole thing, but they had actually managed to pull it off. As the two boys left the mall, she was joined by Gel, still clutching her hairdryer and a handful of paper snowflakes, and by Jay, Ruby and May, each wearing a Techno uniform. Everyone had played their roles well, especially Jack and Ellie, who had been in charge of the sound and lighting, and of course Zoot himself – Darryl.<p>

'Amber! Amber!' Darryl cried while bounding across the landing towards the others, wringing his hands and looking very apologetic. 'I'm so sorry, I've looked high and low but I can't find it anywhere! I've ruined the whole plan.'

'Darryl, what are you talking about?' Amber asked, confused. 'You were brilliant out there! The plan worked!'

'But…but I couldn't find the costume,' Darryl explained, looking just as confused. 'I didn't do anything.'

Just then, the mall was bathed in a bright light and Gel screamed, throwing her paper snowflakes in the air and pointing wildly across to the other side of the balcony, where Zoot stood clutching the railings. Gel regained her senses long enough to turn tail and scarper, and she was soon followed by the rest of the assembled Mallrats.

* * *

><p>Across the balcony, Ellie stepped out from behind the spotlight, switching it off as she did so.<p>

'That was really mean!' she complained to Jack, dressed in Darryl's Zoot costume, before giving him a kiss on the cheek. 'But I still love you.'

Jack smiled. 'What's Christmas without a few practical jokes?' he shrugged.

* * *

><p>On the day of the Christmas party, Amber wound her way through the crowds of people packed into the mall, greeting people as she passed. She caught a glimpse of Jack and Ellie kissing under the mistletoe and smiled. She had just about forgiven Jack for his Zoot prank; after all, it had had such good results. Lex had completely thrown himself into the Christmas preparations, returning from his foray into the city after his 'haunting' dragging a real Christmas tree behind him – she still had no idea where he'd found it – and even helping the kids to decorate it, and the rest of the mall too.<p>

'Amber!' the man himself called out, jostling his way past a couple of Gulls with a drink in his hand. 'Great party!'

'Thanks to you,' she replied, and then, feeling a little mischievous, innocently added: 'What made you change your mind anyway?'

Lex looked serious for a moment. 'Let's just say I saw some festive spirit,' he said eventually. 'Anyway,' he added jovially, producing a sprig of mistletoe from his pocket. 'How about it? It is Christmas after all!' He held the mistletoe up in the air between them and puckered his lips.

Amber rolled her eyes and walked away, but couldn't help smiling as she did so. Despite the Christmas miracle they had performed, there were some things about Lex that would never change, and she didn't think any of them would have it any other way.


End file.
